A permanent home for Australian businesses
Long-term capital for succession or partial liquidity.
About Yarranvale
Yarranvale exists to buy and hold Australian small and medium-sized businesses for the long term.
Our capital is permanent — backed by a Melbourne-based family office, with no fund, no LPs and no exit clock. When we buy a business, we plan to hold it for decades.
That matters because the best privately-held businesses in Australia weren't built to be traded every five years. They were built to serve customers, employ people and generate cash over long periods. Our capital is designed to match how these businesses actually work.
Our capital is committed and available. We are not fundraising to complete a transaction.
What we look for
The kind of businesses we buy.
Size
We generally focus on businesses generating $1m+ of EBITDA with consistent free cash flow. We're comfortable with smaller owner-operated businesses or larger, more institutional ones.
Business model
We're drawn to durable businesses — those that would still be needed in a downturn. Recurring revenue, regulation and compliance, non-discretionary maintenance, specialist manufacturing all fit.
Situation
Owner-led businesses at a point of transition — succession, growth, or partial liquidity. We also consider corporate carve-outs of non-core divisions.
Geography
Australian-headquartered, operating anywhere across the country. We're in Melbourne and travel readily.
How we're different
Permanent capital, not a fund.
Our capital is permanent. No fund, no LPs, no exit clock.
Hold period
Indefinite.
Team and brand
Preserved.
Vendor rollover
Flexible.
How we operate
What to expect from us.
Continuity
We buy businesses to build on what's already working. No scorched-earth cost cuts, no forced rebrand, no team overhaul. Change happens where it's useful, not because a playbook demands it.
Involvement
Our post-completion role depends on the business. Often we're a supportive board — capital when needed, strategic sounding board, occasional guidance. In some situations we take a more active role, particularly through a transition or where interim leadership helps.
Discretion
Selling a business is a personal decision. Every conversation is confidential from first contact. We sign NDAs early. Owners often talk to us for months before they're ready to do anything.
Patience
We're not under pressure to deploy capital, so we won't force a mediocre business to fit. When one is right, we move quickly. If we're not the right buyer, we say so early.
Our process
How a transaction typically works.
A four-step process. Timelines are indicative — they can flex up or down.
Introduction
1–3 weeks
- Initial call to understand your business and objectives
- Signing of a mutual NDA
- Sharing of high-level financials and background information
Indicative offer
2–4 weeks
- Review of financials, customer base, contracts and structure
- One or two follow-up meetings, in person where possible
- Non-binding indicative offer with price range, structure and conditions
Confirmatory diligence
4–8 weeks
- Exclusive period to complete detailed diligence
- Coordinated, respectful process designed to minimise disruption
- Legal, financial, commercial and operational review, with our advisers
Completion
6–10 weeks
- Finalisation of transaction documents
- Joint planning for the handover and communication to team, customers and suppliers
- Completion and the start of the ownership period
Typically four to six months from a serious first conversation to completion, sometimes longer depending on complexity.
About
Yarranvale is led by Will May, its founder and principal.
Will grew up on a rice farm in the Riverina, in southern New South Wales, and holds a private pilot's licence. He trained as a doctor before joining Bain & Company's healthcare practice and, later, BGH Capital, where he worked on private equity investments in healthcare and services businesses, including board observer roles at ForHealth and Abano Healthcare.
He founded Yarranvale in 2025 to build a permanent home for the kind of Australian businesses he had spent his career analysing but rarely seen owned patiently.
Get in touch
Start a conversation.
For owners considering a sale, advisers with opportunities to share, or operators interested in partnering with us. Every conversation is confidential.